Dumb down history in this game

[GuardsmanOfCadia]

I've noticed and no surprise cause they want to sell the game and I get that, but I feel that this game does not represent history that well.

[MagPie]

if u want to learn about history - buy books, not games

[GuardsmanOfCadia]

Oh hahaha aren't you so clever. Sad. My hope is that games will be historical and will get people interested in the subject. But if ya wanna troll to make your ++++ bigger to ya, its whatever man.

[SchnitzelTruck]

It's not meant to be historically accurate. Where did you get that impression?

You're fighting the Aztecs as the Russians with the help of carribean allies on a map located in China.

[Eaglemut]

Well yea, the main campaign story is literally centered around a magical fountain of youth.

The devs' philosophy was to make a fun game first, inspired by some history second.

[Chrixcalibur]

To be fair, this game is the least historically accurate in the series, even the original was, thanks to the Black Family campaign.

[AWACS]

Age of Empires as a series isn't really aiming for historical accuracy.
There's a historical theme to the games, but you certainly shouldn't look at them as a representation of historical accuracy at all. There's already a massive disparity of time and technology, especially when you compare something like the US to the Inca.

[Phoenixeon]

Well, in pure terms of historical accuracy, at least the natives and asians have their own unique array of military and economic units in AoE3. In AoE2 on the other hand.... Chinese use European knights and Aztecs use European infantry. Wow.

[GuardsmanOfCadia]

Ah i get ya.

[portuguese_playa]

like organ guns was not used in the portuguese army.

[Catalytic]

Originally posted by GuardsmanOfCadia:

I've noticed and no surprise cause they want to sell the game and I get that, but I feel that this game does not represent history that well.

I think we need to manage expectations here. This is not a historical re-enactment. It is not intended to be, nor will it ever be completely historically accurate. Let's not expect that.

It is a game that is strongly rooted in history. Like all of the Age games, it is an RTS game first with historical features layered on top of it. That said, there is a strong attempt to be historically accurate with what's added in and when. The upgrades for your economy and units are based in historical fact. The names of the units, civilizations, minor civs, etc are all based in historical fact. You can indeed learn a lot of real history from playing this game and that's a good thing.

Now, the thing we also have to deal with is the political reality that history is just a story. It's a telling of events, and it does take on the perspective of the one doing the telling. The story of a king about the nation he's trying to conquer is going to have its biases. It will read very different from the diary of a peasant, and both of these will read very different from the textbook we read in schools written by a modern historian who is steeped in his own modern culture and biases. When Microsoft contracts with modern historians, most of whom have strong collectivist inclinations, we will see a different telling of the story than those who lived through it. Plantations were plantations to the slaves that worked there. Microsoft's risk- and controversy-adverse lawyers don't even want you to think about slavery when playing their game, so now it's an "estate." We all know how that works. That's reality.

If you want to get an introduction, the game is fine. If you want to learn more history, naturally, you'd do your own research and seek other sources. I'd still strongly encourage people who are curious to play and at least get exposed to some new ideas and new cultures, even if the depiction is highly sanitized for a public audience.

[GuardsmanOfCadia]

I recommend The Fate of Empires - Sir John Glubb

[GuardsmanOfCadia]

its a good read or if you want to listen to it on youtube though im not a fan of youtube

[Opdepov]

Games might not intend to teach history but that doesnt mean they shouldnt represent history correctly. Gameplay might be more important than exact historical representation but the game should avoid representing falsehoods as historical fact,

Originally posted by portuguese_playa:

like organ guns was not used in the portuguese army.

I can imagine some kid thinking Organ guns were typical Portugese artillery. Stuff like this is dangerous, you might not intend to teach history but people will take stuff like this as fact without double checking it. We can't all be historians.